Bleached Pine Cones & Decor

I love being challenged to recreate something. I often use them as inspirations for me in my world of crafting.  Recently I saw a picture of a pinecone ornament for the Great Glitzy Hack Off.  I had just tried bleaching some pine cones and knew their final appearance would be the ideal look for this ornament.  I had success in bleaching leaves last year and you can read about that here,  but I was a little skeptical about doing that for pinecones. Naturally I went online to see if anyone had done it before.  Why yes, but all that I read said to mix part water to part bleach for the pinecones.  Since I was going to use bleach from the dollar store (didn't want to waste money on more expensive stuff)  I decided to use it full strength in my experiment.

I gently poured bleach over store-bought cinnamon scented pinecones I had from my xmas stash.  The bleach immediately turned brown and the pinecones began to close up.  I closed up the container and ever so often would move them about.  After about 24 hours I removed them from the bleach and put them on paper towels to drain.  (don't know why I didn't rinse off the bleach)

You could tell that the color of the scales had changed, but the beauty was yet to be seen.
It took several days for the pinecones to reopen and at one point I got impatient and put the pinecones in a 275 degree oven for an hour. That worked!

Putting them in the oven initially would have solved my anxiety about the pinecones opening.

                                          

 Lo and behold, the pinecones were absolutely beautiful!

 Each one with a different shade and appearance.

I turned one upside down so you can see the detail.

The interesting part about bleaching these and putting them in the oven is that the cinnamon fragrance remained and my kitchen smelled really good.

Using the bleached pinecones in décor proved to be very rewarding.  After decorating them with a mixture of seed beads, glitter, mod podge and champagne color glitter paint, I fell in love with the results. 

For my vignette, I needed to color some plastic leaves using the same champagne color paint.  First I painted the leaves white

and then painted three coats of champagne metallic paint over that. 

 Next I added champagne glitter paint onto the edges.

The leaves were transformed into glittery beauties with a leathery feel.

 I added an evergreen twig. . . 

For a delightful arrangement. . . .

The picture from the Great Glitzy Hack Off featured pinecone ornaments and décor in shades of turquoise.  

                                               

    You know I had to use my purple hues instead.

A tutorial on my purple flower napkin ring can be found here.

Still can't get over how pretty the bleached pinecones are.  I know I'll be bleaching more for the holidays.  Why don't you try this, too?

Take a little time to enjoy,







Linking to and Joining: 

 Some of My Fav Parties:
Mellywoods Mansion for Raising Imperfections Party ,  By Stephanielynn  for the Sunday Showcase Party ,  The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday ,  VMG206 for DIY Sunday Showcase , Sewing Barefoot for The Weekly Creative, Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday , Clairejustineoxox for Creative Mondays ,  Craft and Repeat for On Display Monday Link Party ,  The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday , Feeding Big and more for In and Out of the Kitchen Monday ,  I Should be Mopping the Floor for Mopping It Up Monday ,  Making the World Cuter for Making the World Cuter Monday , Newlywed Pilgrimage for Moonlight Mason Jars linky party Monday Night ,  So Much Better with Age for Give Me The Goods Party ,  Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , Home Coming for DIY'ers , I Gotta Try That for Linky Party Monday,  Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday , Pursuit of Funtional Home for Monday Hop , One More Time for Share It One More Time , Twelve O Eight for Pretty Things Linky Party Monday , Todays Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On ,  Be Betsy for Brag About It Tuesday , DIY Dreamer for From Dream to Reality , Flusterbuster for Creative Muster  Tuesday ,  Kathe With A E for You're Gonna Love It Tuesday ,    The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday , A Stroll thru Life for  Tabletop Inspire Me Tuesday , Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop on Tuesdays ,Homework for Inspiration Board Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures , Romance on a Dime for Take on Tuesday , Debbiedoos for Tuesdays Top Talent Pinterest Party ,  Hickory Trail for Assets and Efforts ,  Hope In Every Season for Make,Bake,Create ,  Mad Cap Frenzy for Totally Tuesday Link Party ,   VMg206 for Brag About It Tuesday , Love Grows Wild for Time to Sparkle , The Blissful Bee for Work It Wednesday ,   Cass-Eats for Linky & Drinky Wednesday ,  Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home ,   Eclectic Red Barn for The Pinterest Power Party ,  Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays , Ginger Snap Crafts for Wow Me Wednesdays ,  
Life With the CrustCutOff for Two Girls and a LinkUp ,  Pink Recipe Box for Creative Wednesdays ,   Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays ,The Shady Porch for Rock and Share Wednesdays , The Taylor House for Pinterest Power Party Wednesday ,  We Like To Learn As We Go for What I Learned Wednesday ,  DIY by Design for Swing into Spring , All Things With a Purpose for Thursday Link Up , Krafty Cards,Etc. for Krafty Inspirations Thursday ,   CSI Project for Challenge of the Week Thursday , Dysfunction Junction for Linkin With My Ladies Thursday ,  I Gotta Create for Wildly Original Linky Party The Frugal Girls for Chic and Crafty Party ,  Glued To My Crafts for Thursdays Obsessions , Lamberts Lately for Create It Thursday , Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop ,  A Peek Into My Paradise for TGIF Link Party ,  The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays , Marigold's Loft for Tutorial Thursdays ,  My Fashion Forward Blog for All Things Pretty ,  No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays , Posed Perfection for All Things Thursday ,  Sparkles and a Stove for All Things Pretty Thursday ,  Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits on Thursdays , Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Friday , The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday . Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Fridays ,  Jennifer Rizzo for Fabulously Creative Friday ,     My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , Common Ground for Be Inspired on Fridays , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday ,  Diana's Rambles for Pin Me Linky Friday 504 Main for Tickled Pink Fridays , Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Friday , Happy Hour Projects for Happy Hour Friday ,  Mellywoods Mansion for Freaking Awesome Fridays ,   Obsessive and Creative for Craft Frenzy Friday ,  Rooted in Thyme for Simple & Sweet Fridays , See Vanessa Craft for do something crafty Friday ,  Shaken Together for What's Shakin' Friday ,   Whipperberry for Friday Fair Link Party ,  DIY Showoff for That DIY Party ,   Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special, Love of Family & Home for Inspire Me Please Weekend , A Bouquet of Talent for Life on Lake Shore Drive on Saturdays , Classy Clutter for Spotlight Saturday , Crafts a la Mode for What To Do Weekends , Debbiedoo's  for Get Blitzed on Pinterest , It's Overflowing for Share Your Creativity Saturday ,  Just Us Four for Pinworthy Projects Party Friday , Mommifried for Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party , My Snippets of Inspiration for Pin It Saturday ,  Natasha in Oz for #Say Gday Saturday Linky Party , One More Time for Share It One More Time Saturday ,  Serenity You for Serenity Saturday , Tutus & Tea Parties for a Pinteresting Party

No Sew Chalkboard Fabric Table Runner

What a wonderful way for family and friends to have fun writing expressions of "THANKS" during the holidays!


Chalkboard this and chalkboard that is all the rage now.  Everywhere you look someone is making something using chalkboard - especially the painted kind.  Recently I discovered what's called "blackboard" fabric while shopping at JoAnn's. Never seen it before and was curious about it.  I came home and quickly looked it up on the internet. There's quite a bit about what most of the creative folks do with the fabric and that is to "sew" placemats or runners. There were also lots of images of people selling items on their etsy sites but none of them were willing to share exactly how most were made.

Blackboard fabric or chalk cloth is what's called a utility fabric and is something like oilcloth.  It's heavy duty and in my opinion, rather difficult to handle - hence, that's why there're so many placemats done out of it. And for those brave souls who really want to sew table runners out of chalkboard fabric there are several videos available to show you how. Well, not me! Even though I pride myself in being able to use a sewing machine and can make a few things using it, I wasn't about to go in that direction.  I thought since the fabric doesn't fray when cut and you can't iron it to fuse, why not just glue it on whatever backing or fabric you want to use.

Here's how I made a no-sew chalkboard fabric table runner:

In addition to the blackboard fabric I got on sale at JoAnn's, I found some printed burgundy chevron burlap fabric at Walmart that I've been wanting to make something with. Note to all:  Walmart has the best prices and patterns for printed burlap in case you're interested.


                                          

 

Chevron Fabric:
 Measuring:  Measure the buffet, table or area where you want to use your runner - length and width.  From these measurements decide how long and wide you want your runner. For example:  My buffet is exactly 72 inches long and nineteen inches wide.  At first I thought I wanted my runner to fit the top of my buffet with the same measurements or have an overhang.  But after laying the fabric out I didn't like the way that would look so I decided to make the finished runner a bit smaller at 69 inches long by 17 inches wide. This is the finished measurements for the chevron burlap fabric. I allowed for a one inch (added to the measurements) fold, to glue down on all sides. 

Cutting:  Here it got a bit tricky for me.  Burlap fabric can be cut crooked. In fact, whenever I've had a piece cut for me at the fabric store, rarely is it cut straight - either from the previous cut or the way it is folded on the bolt. And this chevron piece was no exception.  There's always the method of pulling out a thread to get the fabric even, but this fabric was woven tighter than most burlap and I didn't want to take a chance with the thread breaking.  The cut was off from the previous cut so I decided to use the nearest points (V tips) to my measurements on the chevron fabric. In other words, to me, chevrons are V's grouped together so I cut from V tip to V tip to keep the fabric straight. I hope this makes sense to you.  By doing this I was able to get a straight cut.

Gluing:  Fold over (1") one side at a time and glue down the edges. I tried Aleene's Fabric Fusion glue first but found that very messy and not holding. Then I remember when I upholstered table legs with regular Aleene's Tacky glue and switched to that for the burlap.  After gluing down the long sides I mitered folded the ends first and then glued them down, too.  I also used clips to hold the fabric together while drying.  Clips became my friend for this project.


                                                      

Blackboard Fabric:
 Measuring and Cutting:  This fabric proved to be easy to measure and cut since I was gluing it on to have one inch borders all around.  I measured and cut it out at 67" x 17".

Gluing:  I used Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky glue for this fabric. I first laid the blackboard fabric on top of the burlap exactly where I wanted it, making sure to have a one inch border all around.  I used clips to keep it in place as I glued, starting at one end, gluing it and moving around lengthwise to the next end.  I used clips to help keep the fabrics together and also smoothing the fabric along the way as I glued. I allow one side to dry a bit before moving to the final side.  It doesn't take very long for the fast grab glue to take hold and stick.

After the glue dried (about an hour) the chalkboard fabric had to be "primed" before use.  I could have done this before gluing but I didn't want the chalk dust to interfere with the glue in anyway.  Instructions came with the fabric and it says to rub the side of a piece of common chalk over the entire surface from top to bottom and side to side.  Using a soft cloth wipe off the chalk and repeat the process (I only did this once) The fabric is now ready to be use. (write on) In my research, some said it was ok to use a damp cloth to clean the board.  I had to do this because the chalk dust was so messy.  *Remember in elementary school beating the erasers?

After cleaning off the chalk:

Sorry for the blurry photos. I tried to get a shot of the entire length.  I couldn't get all of the lumps out of the fabric even though I laid it out on the floor for a couple of days.  They may come out if I put the runner out in the sun for a few hours.  I thought about the garage floor but there's a rubber floor covering with ridges in it that might transfer to the chalkboard. Anyway, the runner has to rolled up for storage when not in use to prevent any creases and rolling will not prevent any additional lumps.

What a fun way to use this runner when having family and friends over.  And if you have kids or grandkids - WATCH OUT!!!  You'll never get them to stop marking on it and having fun.

And guess what?  The chalkboard runner is REVERSIBLE!!!

 Yes! You can turn it over and use it like a regular runner.  How cool is that?

Chalkboard fabric is really quite unique! Since it's no fray you can make all sorts of things with it.  Cut different shapes out of it and use your imagination.

I truly enjoyed making this.  For the non sewers out there, this is for you!


Take a little time to enjoy!

                                                                    

Linking To Some of My Fav Parties:
Mellywoods Mansion for Raising Imperfections Party ,  By Stephanielynn  for the Sunday Showcase Party ,  The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sunday ,  VMG206 for DIY Sunday Showcase , Sewing Barefoot for The Weekly Creative, Alderberry Hill for Make the Scene Monday , Clairejustineoxox for Creative Mondays ,  Craft and Repeat for On Display Monday Link Party ,  The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Monday , Feeding Big and more for In and Out of the Kitchen Monday ,  I Should be Mopping the Floor for Mopping It Up Monday ,  Making the World Cuter for Making the World Cuter Monday , Newlywed Pilgrimage for Moonlight Mason Jars linky party Monday Night ,  So Much Better with Age for Give Me The Goods Party ,  Thrifty Decor Chick for Before and After Monday , Boogieboard Cottage for Masterpiece Monday , Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday , Home Coming for DIY'ers , I Gotta Try That for Linky Party Monday,  Mod Vintage Life for Mod Mix Monday , Pursuit of Funtional Home for Monday Hop , One More Time for Share It One More Time , Twelve O Eight for Pretty Things Linky Party Monday , Todays Creative Blog for Get Your Craft On ,  Be Betsy for Brag About It Tuesday , DIY Dreamer for From Dream to Reality , Flusterbuster for Creative Muster  Tuesday ,  Kathe With A E for You're Gonna Love It Tuesday ,    The Stories of A2Z for Tutorials and Tips Tuesday , Coastal Charm for Nifty Thrifty Tuesday , A Stroll thru Life for  Tabletop Inspire Me Tuesday , Cedar Hill Ranch for The Scoop on Tuesdays ,Homework for Inspiration Board Tuesday , My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia for Tuesday's Treasures , Romance on a Dime for Take on Tuesday , Debbiedoos for Tuesdays Top Talent Pinterest Party ,  Hickory Trail for Assets and Efforts ,  Hope In Every Season for Make,Bake,Create ,  Mad Cap Frenzy for Totally Tuesday Link Party ,   VMg206 for Brag About It Tuesday , Love Grows Wild for Time to Sparkle , The Blissful Bee for Work It Wednesday ,   Cass-Eats for Linky & Drinky Wednesday ,  Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home ,   Eclectic Red Barn for The Pinterest Power Party ,  Primp for Primp Your Stuff Wednesdays , Ginger Snap Crafts for Wow Me Wednesdays ,  
Life With the CrustCutOff for Two Girls and a LinkUp ,  Pink Recipe Box for Creative Wednesdays ,   Savvy Southern Style for Wow Us Wednesdays ,The Shady Porch for Rock and Share Wednesdays , The Taylor House for Pinterest Power Party Wednesday ,  We Like To Learn As We Go for What I Learned Wednesday ,  DIY by Design for Swing into Spring , All Things With a Purpose for Thursday Link Up , Krafty Cards,Etc. for Krafty Inspirations Thursday ,   CSI Project for Challenge of the Week Thursday , Dysfunction Junction for Linkin With My Ladies Thursday ,  I Gotta Create for Wildly Original Linky Party The Frugal Girls for Chic and Crafty Party ,  Glued To My Crafts for Thursdays Obsessions , Lamberts Lately for Create It Thursday , Katherine's Corner for Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop ,  A Peek Into My Paradise for TGIF Link Party ,  The Shabby Creek Cottage for Transformation Thursdays , Marigold's Loft for Tutorial Thursdays ,  My Fashion Forward Blog for All Things Pretty ,  No Minimalist Here for the Open House Party on Thursdays , Posed Perfection for All Things Thursday ,  Sparkles and a Stove for All Things Pretty Thursday ,  Stone Gable for Tutorials, Tips and Tidbits on Thursdays , Chic on a Shoestring Decorating for Flaunt It Friday , The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday . Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Fridays ,  Jennifer Rizzo for Fabulously Creative Friday ,     My Romantic Home for Show and Tell Friday , French Country Cottage for Feathered Nest Friday , Common Ground for Be Inspired on Fridays , The Charm of Home for Home Sweet Home Friday , Craftberry Bush for the Inspiration Gallery on Friday ,  Diana's Rambles for Pin Me Linky Friday 504 Main for Tickled Pink Fridays , Happy Go Lucky for Shine on Friday , Happy Hour Projects for Happy Hour Friday ,  Mellywoods Mansion for Freaking Awesome Fridays ,   Obsessive and Creative for Craft Frenzy Friday ,  Rooted in Thyme for Simple & Sweet Fridays , See Vanessa Craft for do something crafty Friday ,  Shaken Together for What's Shakin' Friday ,   Whipperberry for Friday Fair Link Party ,  DIY Showoff for That DIY Party ,   Funky Junk Interiors for Saturday Nite Special, Love of Family & Home for Inspire Me Please Weekend , A Bouquet of Talent for Life on Lake Shore Drive on Saturdays , Classy Clutter for Spotlight Saturday , Crafts a la Mode for What To Do Weekends , Debbiedoo's  for Get Blitzed on Pinterest , It's Overflowing for Share Your Creativity Saturday ,  Just Us Four for Pinworthy Projects Party Friday , Mommifried for Ladies Only Blog Share Link Party , My Snippets of Inspiration for Pin It Saturday ,  Natasha in Oz for #Say Gday Saturday Linky Party , One More Time for Share It One More Time Saturday ,  Serenity You for Serenity Saturday , Tutus & Tea Parties for a Pinteresting Party

 

Recycled Bottle Owl

Have I got a fun project to share with you today! Handcrafted owls are very popular now and I love making them as you can see here.   When I saw a whimsical wreath with a very small owl perched on decorative vines at World Market  I wondered why the owl wasn't emphasized more instead of the vines.  I thought this would be a fun project to do featuring an owl I made out of a recycled liquid soap bottle. 





Here's how I made it:

1.  Using an empty liquid soap bottle (shaped somewhat like an owl), I removed the labels and cut off the screw top with a hot knife. I used the large refill size but the smaller size is the same shape.

2.  Glued burlap onto the bottle with Aileen's Extra Tacky Glue.

3.  For the eyes I used cotton twine from the dollar store and made them like I did here.

4.  To cover the hole in the top of the bottle I cut out a square piece of burlap and glued it on with the pointed edge between the eyes. Then glue twigs into the shape of a "v" between and above the eyes.

5.  Make sure the pointed edge of the burlap is centered before gluing on the back and  gently creased the two edges that are to the left and right of the owl's head.

6.  Use a glue gun to add pinecone scales to the sides of the owl.

7.   Overlap the pinecone scales from the bottom to the top sides. 

8.  Add twigs (for tail) to the back bottom of the owl.  I used more scales here to cover the top of the twigs. If you want, you can completely cover any remaining areas of the owl with twigs or with any natural fibers. The options are endless.

9.  Use three pieces of floral twine wrapped wire glued together to make each of the owl's feet.

 10.  Add a large pinecone scale between the lower portion of the eyes for the beak.

                                                                    

And it's done!  Quite simple and easy to make!  

Now, for my inspiration:

                                     Theirs                                                 Mine

An adorable owl perched on a leaf filled grapevine hung with jute twine! 

This precious owl vine swag can be hung on the wall or tied to a front door.  What a great fall accessory and a wonderful way to greet friends and family for the holidays.

Take a little time to enjoy!